Autistry Studios Screening: Showcasing Student Work from the Story Xperiential Program

In the last week of August, Autistry Studios held a screening of every storyreel their students have made while participating in the Story Xperiential program. It was held at Cinelounge, a small, funky, art-house theater in Tiburon, California. Six of the student filmmakers attended, as well as friends and family. Autistry Studios is a therapeutic educational Maker Space. Their mission is to build independent adults. Autistry staff help autistic/neurodivergent teens and adults become successfully independent by leveraging their interests and talents while creating a robust, supportive, and productive community.

Ken Pontac, Animation and Game Writer, and Creative Supervisor at Autistry Studios, told us, "We put out some snack platters and enjoyed an intimate evening in the super cozy Lagoon room. The students and I stood on the stage after the screening and took a bow to the enthusiastically applauding audience. The students were absolutely beaming with pride, as was I. The evening ended with a Q&A session."

Janet Lawson, Founder of Autistry Studios, speaking in front of the audience before the screening.

Xperiential's Co-Founder and CTO, Tony DeRose attended this intimate and heart-warming event and had this to say, "Ken, Janet and the team at Autistry Studios have done an incredible job coaching their participants through the story development process of our Story Xperiential program. I was particularly impressed by the clarity and emotional impact of the stories included in the screening."

Hazel's Story by Elena Caldwell Penelope the Dragon and The Alien Invasion by Nat Snell

The Autistry team are planning on having another screening at a larger venue at the end of this semester, so keep an eye out for more details. "This screening will be more of a red-carpet event, with all the bells and whistles: our name on the marquee, an advertising blitz, photographers and press and, if it’s a cloudy night, we might even rent a spotlight! We have inroads to the Rafael Theater just down the street, and we’ll pitch the idea to them. This event will be the climax of the Story Xperiential segment of our documentary series." Pontac explained.

This series of documentary shorts, shot by Ken Pontac and his team, will feature various aspects of Autistry’s curriculum. They have already started working on the Story Xperiential episode, documenting the process from start to finish. Students have just started the Character Step, and Pontac anticipates some interesting conversations to ensue.

Pontac continued, "The Story Xperiential episode will feature our most verbose students, Sophia and Elena, who are featured in the trailer on our Colors of the Spectrum Film website. There are various donation options on the website, and we want as many eyeballs on it as possible. What we’re hoping for is to get a corporate sponsor or sponsors to support the episodes. We’ve sent query letters to any company with whom Autistry Studios does business: toy companies, art supply companies, the companies who make the tools our students use to fabricate the products we sell in the Makers Market, etc. Hopefully we’ll get a bite and this project will be funded."

Ken Pontac (left) and the six neurodivergent student filmmakers whose storyreels were part of the screening. If you'd like to learn more about Autistry Studios visit, https://autistrystudios.com/ and to find out how you can get involved with supporting the Colors of the Spectrum Film visit https://www.colorsofthespectrumfilm.com/.

Ken Pontac has been a force in animation for over 40 years, with writing credits on global hits from Iron Man and Curious George to a decade of involvement with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He won an Emmy for Gary & Mike, earned a nomination for ToddWorld, and helped traumatize two generations with Happy Tree Friends. He’s also the brain behind the viral meme anthem “You Are A Pirate”.

Pontac’s more karmically redemptive work includes episodes of the PBS series Arthur, and mentoring autistic teens and adults at Autistry Studios. His recent documentary, Out From The Ashes, tells the gripping story of his (SPOILER ALERT: successful) attempts to extricate a Ukrainian family from a Russian filtration camp. Pontac lives in Sausalito with a beautiful redheaded nurse, and two Xoloitzcuintlis—one calm, one not so calm. IMDb | LinkedIn